Cultural Perspectives, Essay Example

Taking a cultural perspective class that focuses on international situations such as “Black Rain” by MasujiIbuse and “three daughters” by Jung Chang is sometimes difficult to relate to one cultural perspective.  Being Chinese, there are many cultural practices that are respected in my heritage. Even though those practices have evolved and many are no longer practiced, they are a pivotal part of the culture. Much like the individuals who have only been exposed to American culture, they respect it even if they don’t always agree with it. This makes it difficult personally to not take sides in situations where two cultural perspectives collide, like in these books. The best thing is that there is no requirement to agree or disagree with any one cultural perspective, merely to gain understanding and respect for variations.

The cultural perspectives of events that transpired in the United States, Japan, and China allows one to see the vast difference that culture truly plays on society. History has had a large role in how cultures change. If practices are not challenged, they will remain practices. In some cultures this is not acceptable. For example China believed in the painful practice of wrapping the baby girl’s feet; or in Africa that practiced genital mutilation, or even in Pakistan where women are stoned to death for having sex outside of marriage. These are difficult cultural practices to respect or even understand, but to them it is a necessary part of who they are.  These two books address similar cultural experiences that formed the people’s lives who were portrayed.

Black rain explains the life and ultimate devastation of Japan and its people as a result of the barbaric atomic attack. The four year war led the U.S. soldiers to be exhausted and Japan refused to give up. The decision to drop the bomb has received a vast amount of criticism based punk the cultural perspective of the viewer.  By this it is implied that Americans would most likely be more supportive of this than the Japanese, even in modern day.  The lives of these individual’s prior to the bombing was much like other cultures. One of the main characters, ShigematsuShizuma’s niece Yasuko, dreamed of getting married and having a family. But after the bombing the rumors that she was affected by radiation spread and threatened her ability to marry. In order to prove she was not sick, her uncle kept a detailed diary of her actions. Not only did these people physically suffer, but they suffered in their environment as well.

After the bombing there were people with opened wounds, burns covering their body, and physical ailments as well. Part of personally understanding how the effects of the Japanese culture after this bombing, I took time to look up the pictures of the aftermath. It was difficult to see and showed human suffering at an all-time high. The attack was not an instant outcome. Some died immediately, however others grew ill and suffered for months before dying. The environment these individual’s lived off of was ruined as well. Food was scarce, water was damaged, and it was a long-term torture for the communities that were affected by the atomic bomb.

The part that had the biggest impact personally was the devastation that the people of Japan were faced to deal with.  The radiation created instant and long-term suffering on virtually every faucet of life. It is hard to understand what type of mentality was behind deciding to launch this bomb. I understand that part of the cultural perspectives is respecting differences without necessarily agreeing with them. This is hard to respect. The war was ugly, that is understandable, but the people of Japan were just as much victims of the war as the people of America. Political leaders and their disagreements caused the war, however it is assumed that many of the people who died, paid the price for something they had nothing to do with. This was a hard book to read, but it is an important part of history, and gaining a different part of cultural perspectives.

The second book was the “three daughters” by Jung Chang. This is a book that hits close to home because I have a strong respect for the cultural values that are shown in this story. Being an international student it is good to hear how others view the culture that I am accustom to. The beginning of the story has a heavy cultural practice representation. By this, I mean that there are many practices that are specific to China during this time of history. The grandmother was the primary one who was affected by the culture. Yu-fang had her feet bound from the age of two. This cultural practice has since been bound, but at the time it was the only way for a young girl to marry into money. It was viewed as being beautiful and strongly desired by men. From a cultural perspective, it is a sign of status quo as well.

Another cultural value was the transaction that took place selling his daughter in marriage to a warlord. He willing allowed his daughter to be a concubine for his own personal gain. They believed that marriage was based on a transaction, not on feelings. Her desire to be in love was squashed when she was told that she was to enter into this union. The worst part was she was able to be used and disposed of whenever her new husband saw fit, because the marriage was not that of a husband and wife, but of a sexual relationship.  Women were not allowed to betray their husbands, and ultimately it would result in extreme punishment which could ultimately result in her death. The cultural perspective of this book relies heavily on the fact that women are not able to think for themselves, they need their direction dictated, which ultimately benefited the family. This type of practice has evolved since this time period portrayed in the book, but it is an important part of the Chinese culture.

Later the grandmother remarries, but the family frowns upon the wedding because their cultural belief is that is a women remarries, they are basically cutting themselves in half between two men. Clearly gender is a significant factor in China’s cultural practices and beliefs. Men can have as many wives or concubines as they want, but women are scorned for remarrying after becoming a widow. This is still somewhat of a practice in modern day China. But from a cultural perspective, it takes place here in the United States as well, it is just presented differently. Men are allowed to act in certain manner and it is attributed solely to their gender. Women act in the same manner and they are labeled in a negative and derogatory manner. A specific is the number of sexual partner one has. Men are honored and women are disgraced the higher the number goes. This is just like the Chinese cultural practices of gender variation, but with different variables.

Learning about the different cultures is a great part of this class. It allows the student a greater understanding and respect for how life changes based on geographic location. It is important to state that we may not always agree with what goes on in these locations, but we have to respect the fact that they are honoring the cultures for which they believe. This is an important lesson to learn in this class, it is also very difficult. These books were great examples of how cultural perspectives vary, and the effects they have on individuals outside of this situation. I will walk away from this class with a new found respect for cultural practices and our own individual differences.